Metal fabric.



A. F. RIETZEL.

METAL FABRIC,-

APPLICATION man NOV. 1a. 1909.

1,162,40Q, Patented Nov. 30, 1915.

warren stares earner (WERE;

ADOLPH F. RIETZEL, 0F CHARLESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSALELECTRIC WELDING COMPANY, OF LONG- ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK, A. CORPORATIONOF NEW YORK.

METAL FABRIC.

flriginal application filed October 21, 1908, Serial To all whom it mayconcern Be it known that I, AooLrH'F. RIETZEL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, add a resident of Charlestown, in the county of Washington andState of Rhode Island, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Metal Fabrics, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to metal fabrics comprising members crossing oneanother and adapted for varioususes, as for instance, fencing, lathing,etc.

My invention is useful for metal wire fabrics and for such fabrics whenconstructed in roportions for use as fencing and, in setting forth theinvention, 1 will, for purposes of illustration only, describe theinvention as embodied in wire fencing.

Various expedients have been resorted to for securing crossing membersof a metal fabric to one another at their intersections, such as the useof a piece of wire bent or coiled around the members of the fabric, orthe bending of the wires of the fabric itself, or a simple welding ofthe crossing members of the fabric to one another at the point ofintersection or the interweaving of the wires with a ring.

The object of my present invention is to provide a simple, cheap, rigidand yet light structure and one which may readily and conveniently bemanufactured in an electric welding machine.

The invention consists in the construction of metal fabric, ashereinafter more particularly described and then specified in theclaims.

'Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 shows a section of wire fencingconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged sideelevation at one of the intersections.

Fig. 3

is a vertical section through the strand member and fastener of Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a strand memher and fastener of a'modification. Fig. 5 is an elevation of another modification and Fig. 6is an edge view of the same, one of the crossing or intersecting wiresof the fabric being shown in cross-section. Figs. 7, and 8 illustratesome modifications in the form of the fastener. Fig. 9 illustrates amodification in which the fastener is applied to both sides of thefabric.

Inthe various figures of the drawings 1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. so, 1915.

No. 458,818. Divided and this application filed November Serial No.528.278.

indicates the strand or longitudinal members of a metal. fabric and 2the stay, crossing or transverse members of the fabric or vice versa.

as to be capable of engaging, by its side,

upon the sides of the crossing members 1, 2 of thefabric.

In Figs. 2, 4, 5, 7 and 8, the fastener is a single piece of wire cut tosuitable length and bent to the desired form and so as to extendcompletely around the crossingpoint of'the fabric members 1 and 2 formaking side contact with each of said members at two points locatedrespectively at opposite sides of the crossingpoint. A' lateral bend oroffset may be formed in one or both wires or members 1, 2, where theycross as at 5, in order that the wire fastener may more readily makecontact by its side with the fabric at the four points surrounding theintersection when it is superposed on both members. The fastener mighthowever lie between the fabric members as indicated in Figs. 5 and 6.This modification renders it unnecessary to bend either of the wires 1and 2 or the wire fastener transversely to the plane of the fabric.might itself be slightly bent or distorted as shown in Fig. 4 to permitit to make side contact readily with both of the crossing members incase it is desired to make up a fabric without any bending of saidmembers at the crossing point. When the fastener is a single piece ofwire bent to form, its opposite ends 4 are preferably located over oneof the-members 1, 2, and are side-welded at that point as shown in Figs.2, 5, 7, 8, to prevent the ring or other endless form of fastener fromopening or the ends from becoming displaced with reference to oneanother, as well as for securing greater rigidity or stiffness at allpoints.

The fastening piece of wire and the crossing members are superposed onone another at the intersections as shown in the various figures and therounded side OffthQ fastening wire 3 engages the sides, bf the twocrossing members of the fabric 1; points 7 and is welded thereto at suchpoi ts of contact by heating current and pressure applied sidewiseto-thefabric in a welding machine having suitable contact and pressure jawsAgain the fastener I fabric members members have a rounded tion of aninitial electric contact spot or point of limited superficial area Wherethe or electrodes. The pressure and contact electrodes of'such a machineare indicated at 6, 6 Fig. 3. In constructing the fabric, they areapplied at opposite sides of the fabric in obvious manner and inaddition to being of form to squeeze the fastener and together, at theirpoints of side contact, they also feed an electric heating;1 current tothe work which passes across sal of the fastener makes limited electriccontact with the fabric members, thereby facilitating the heating of theparts to the weld ing temperature in the electric welding orunitingoperation.

y my invention a metal fabric of great stiffness and strength and smallWeight may be produced at low cost. When the crossing side as in thecase of a Wire fabric, this conduces to the formafastener crosses andmakes contact by its side. with the, side of the strand or stay member.

Obviously for great strength a fastener may be applied to both sides ofthe fabric at the intersections in the manner already described in whichcases the points of side contact on the two fasteners would preferablybe opposite one another, as indicated in Fig. 9.

My present application constitutes a divicontact points where therounded side sion of my prior application filed October 21, 1908, S. N.458,818.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A metal fabric having-crossing members and a fastening piecesuperposed on one another at the intersection and side- Welded togetheron the side of the fastening piece, said fastening piece lying betweenthe crossing members.

2 A metal fabric comprising crossing Wires and a bent piece of fasteningwire bent to extend completely around the crossingpoint, superposed onone another and having the bent wire side-welded to both crossing wiresand on one of them at a point where the two ends of the bent wire meet.

3. A metal fabric comprising crossing wires and fastening piecesconsisting of wire bent to surround the intersections, said fasteningpieces being located between the crossing wires and side-welded to bothof them.

4. A metal. fabric comprising crossing members and metal fasteners lyingbetween the said members at their intersections and welded to both.

Signed at South Kingston, in the county of Washington and State of RhodeIsland, this 12th day of November, A. D. 1909.

DLDOL PH F. RIE'TZEL.

Witnesses:

TnoMAs A. GARDNER, Rosn H. RIETZEL.

